Of the 32 eels that were swallowed whole by dark sleeper fish in a recent study, nine of them successfully escaped to safety

Japanese eels have found an ingenious way to escape a fish's stomach after being swallowed — backing up the digestive tract then squeezing themselves out of the predator's gills. In a scientific first,

Some teenage Japanese eels have found a way to avoid becoming a fish’s next meal. Anguilla japonica eels can escape a predator’s stomach through the fish’s gills. Now, scientists are using X-ray videography to watch just how eels accomplish this. The findings are detailed in a study published September 9 in the journal Current Biology .

Japanese researchers have captured a surprising escape tactic used by juvenile eels, and they aren't the only animal that can escape digestion.

Baby Japanese eels have been spotted escaping from the stomachs of fish that have eaten them by backing out tail-first, as if moonwalking, first out of their esophagus and then their gills, according to a new paper in the journal Current Biology.

Prey animals have evolved many ways to escape being eaten by a predator. Some flee with speed, while others hide using mimicry. But for Japanese eels, escape means wiggling out tail-first from the stomach of a fish.

Slippery Japanese eels are able to escape alive from a predator’s stomach. Remarkable footage is the first video evidence of the "unique" survival method of the young eels after being swallowed whole.